A New Beginning
by CharmaEvans
Summary: Skyler is a normal human, like most of us. Then, she kills someone, and flees her home. When she encounters Vancha March near Vampire Mountain, with the Vampire Flu, what on earth will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Ahem, this is my first story in quite some time. I've decided to delete all my others, excluding "An Unspoken Attraction" because not only did I loose all of them, I've lost inspiration for all of them. I am keeping, and working on, "An Unspoken Attraction" because it's something of HomeSkillitBiscuit.93's, and she's agreed to let me work on it. :D Ah, and also, HomeSkillitBiscuit.93 is helping me with writing this.  
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The freezing wind howled against Skyler's tiny frame as her legs pumped harder and faster. Shoes squelched in the muddy terrain, while thick, icy droplets spattered against her face, eyes and forearms. Through the rain, the shrieks of sirens and of other people filled the air, becoming like white noise against her ears. With every step Skyler took, her fear of being caught burned in the back of her mind, despite the fact that with every step, she was getting farther away from this dreaded place.

Run, she kept telling herself. Run, and keep going. Don't stop. And don't you dare look back.

Amidst these thoughts, Skyler hadn't realized where she had been going, until she stopped short and took in her surroundings. Her breathing came out in short rasps as she took in the dense forestry that cornered her. Tall trees, a breed unknown to her, were black against the dark blue sky, bending under the thrashing of the freezing winds. Resting her palms on her bent knees, Skyler squeezed her eyes shut and tried to catch her breath and tried to calm the burning in her chest. A twig suddenly snapped behind her, and a flurry of advanced panic thrummed through her veins. Darting to her left, Skyler gathered whatever strength she had left and kept on running.

For what seemed like hours later, or what could have been minutes, she stopped running. Skyler didn't know, or rather, she couldn't care how much time had passed, she just hoped that she was farther enough away to have fallen off of their radar. Her entire body ached, and when the full force of the adrenalin wore off, her body called it quits. Her legs screamed in pain, and burned with such intensity that she couldn't feel her toes. Dragging her near lifeless form under a nearby shrubbery, and made sure to be completely concealed.

Skyler had lost all of what bearings she had. Anywhere could have been north, south, or east or west. Even when she had escaped, even she had no idea which direction she had took of running. Wiping the matted hair from her eyes, Skyler brought her knees up to her chest, and rested her head atop her knees. Her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly, and a weary sigh escaped Skyler's dried lips. Retrieving the small pocket knife from her secret pocket, Skyler needed food, and she needed it now.

The flames of the small campfire licked the air and flickered against Skyler's eyes as she sat and waited. Reaching out, she turned her makeshift skewer of rabbit meat over the flames, and proceeded to wait some more. Stretching her arms and back, Skyler grimaced at her appearance, if only slightly. Her tattered clothes were bloodstained, and she was matted with sweat and dirt, and more than likely smelled awful. Unfortunately, she could not go back home. Or rather, she would not. Nothing in this world could ever get her to return back to that horrid place. Too many memories of that place festered in her mind, and made her hate not only herself, but most living creatures. And perhaps it also desensitized her in some way, which is most likely why she was so readily able to mercilessly kill that poor rabbit with no ounce of regret. In fact, a small part of her enjoyed in murdering a helpless animal, and it made her wonder what killing a human would feel like, if she had the chance to do it again; on purpose this time.

Vancha wandered aimlessly through the dense forest, grinding his teeth at the thorns that had become embedded in the soles of his feet. They stung hard with each step, and he tried his best to ignore the unpleasant sensation. By his luck, he had caught the vampire flu, and a nasty case of it at that. He'd been feeling awful for days now, and was currently on his way to Vampire Mountain; a place that promised rest and a full recovery.

As Vancha squeezed his way through a thick shrubbery, he became temporarily stuck in the thick brambles. Biting back a rather nasty profanity, he heaved himself through, eventually stumbling out rather ungracefully. Once he had become free of the shrubs claws, he dusted himself off and looked around, only to come face to face with a human. It was a female, he noticed; hunched over on a log, gnashing at a small piece of meat in her hands.

For a moment, they both stared at each other. A flicker of silver behind the girl's leg caught Vancha's eye, and he immediately saw that she had drawn a weapon. But, being a vampire, it did not faze him. He could easily fend her off if she attacked him, or better yet, kill her.

"Hey, kid, what do you think you're doing out here?" he snapped, narrowing his eyes at the glinting pocket knife at her side.

The girl ignored his question, and instead, opted to ask one of her own.

"Who are you?" Her voice was hoarse, and wavered slightly as her eyes studied his unmoving form. Gripping the pocket knife tightly in her hand, she took in his attire; oddly enough, he was clad in purple animal hides, along with strangely green hair. The air grew thick with an awful smell, and wondered how long it had been since this boy had bathed. Her grip tightened as a hard glare creased into his features.

Vancha scoffed. "Listen here, kid. This territory you're in is dangerous for a human like you. I suggest you pick up and move on, lest you end up dead."

Skyler threw the piece of unfinished meat onto the ground and took a seat closer to the dwindling campfire. "And what else would I be, aside from human?" she questioned mockingly.

"That's not really any of your business," Vancha bit out.

Skyler thought for a moment. "I see. Well, let's say I've nowhere to go. And you're telling me I should leave, right? So, pray tell, stranger; what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?"

A growl escaped Vancha's throat. "Not my problem, kid."

Skyler sighed. "Then where are you off to?"

Vancha mentally groaned. Bloody hell, this human was annoying. Why couldn't she just leave him be? "Again, kid, that's none of your business."

Skyler brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and met his eyes. "You must be going somewhere," she replied.

Vancha groaned aloud this time. "I said it's none of your business! Geez! Why don't you just go back to wherever you came from and get out of here before you get killed, hm?" he ground out, flashing the human a hard glare.

"I just told you that I can't go back!" she screamed, rising to her feet to flash him a glare of equal calibur.

Vancha took two steps forward so he was towering over her small frame. "And why the hell not?" he spat. Vancha watched as the girl opened her mouth to say something, but then she immediately slammed it shut. Her eyes quivered, and he saw small tears begin to form at the corners of her eyes. His glare faltered, and he regretfully took a step back.

"I-I—" Her voice broke. "I… I've done s-some things… that I'm n-not proud of," she murmured, trying to ward off the encroaching sobs that threatened to tear their way out.

Silence fell over the two. Studying her form, Vancha realized that her entire front was spattered with blood, and coated with dried up dirt and bits of twigs. Her hair was a mess, and she, too, smelled like she hadn't bathed in days.

"Kid, we've all done things we're not proud of," Vancha muttered as he gingerly grabbed her shoulders and sat her back down on the log. He was about to stand up and leave, when her hand slid over the top of his and squeezed it tight. A sob wracked its way out, and Vancha cursed his compassionate side as he scooted closer to comfort her.

"I… don't have a home anymore," she sobbed. "I have nowhere to go, and no one to turn to."

Vancha watched as she grabbed her sleeves and wiped at her eyes, trying to hide the tears that he already knew were trailing down her dirtied cheeks.

"Why?" was all Vancha could think of to ask.

Sucking in a deep breath through her nose, Skyler wiped at her eyes once more before placing them in her lap and clasping them tightly. Her whole body shook, but whether it was from the cold, or from the crying, Vancha couldn't tell anymore.

"Because," she sniffled. "I-I killed someone."

Vancha blanched. Could this really be? A human killing another human? This was preposterous. Such a thing was unheard of, especially from a young female human. Vancha watched as she continued to sob and sniffle, and his eyes widened at one question that throbbed in the back of his mind: what on earth could have possessed this young girl to kill another one of her kind? He sensed that that wasn't all there was to the story, but he did not care, for now. Instead, he stood up, brushed himself off and headed into the trees.

Skyler sensed his movements, and her mouth opened into a little 'o' of surprise at his sudden departure.

"Wait!" Skyler called out from behind him, her voice echoing off the trees. "Where are you going?"

"Away from here," was the curt reply given by the odd stranger as he kept on walking.

Anger boiled within Skyler as she immediately stood to her feet. The boy still kept on walking, and she found herself running to catch up with him. Her heart began to pound as a thick knot of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. The intense feelings of loss and loneliness sunk deep under her ribcage, and she suddenly felt the desperate urge to not remain alone.

"You can't just leave me here, you asshole!" she snarled as she came up behind him, pocket knife clutched in her hand as she raised it high and ready to strike.

Seconds before the blade could be plunged into the back of his neck, the stranger turned around and grasped her wrist so hard that it hurt. Uttering a yelp, Skyler's hand sprang open and the knife fell to the dirt. The boy's grip tightened, and she writhed under his brute strength, but could not break free.

"Listen here, kid," he spat as he bored his eyes into hers. "This place is not for your kind, so pick yourself up and leave me the hell alone, or by the fires of the black pits, I'll squeeze those pretty brown eyes right from out of your skull, do you understand me?"

The girl's eyes remained wide, and she was unable to answer. Vancha threw her onto the ground with a sharp flick of his wrist, and seconds later she was sprawled in the dirt, choking and sobbing. Vancha glared at her pitiful form, and mentally shook his head, wondering why on earth had he stopped to argue with a dirty, smelly human. Adjusting his clothing, Vancha turned on his heel and continued on with his journey.

He had taken all of fifteen steps before he heard the human girl call out again.

"Take me with you."

Stopping dead in his tracks, Vancha hesitated. Was this human crazy? Was she really that afraid to go back home that she would enlist the help of a stranger—more importantly—a vampire? The consequences were sure to be dire, he mused to himself. Behind him, he heard the human pull herself to her feet and take three steps toward him before stopping and repeating her request.

Turning on his heel, Vancha raked his eyes over the girl's form. She was barely holding herself up, and could not fight to save her life, and Vancha was about to dismiss her once again, until he noticed something in her eyes. Despite her pitiful looking form, her eyes held a strong determination that he had not seen before.

Skyler breathed heavily as she stared at the stranger. He seemed to processing her request, and Skyler's heart leapt briefly before hardening, as the boy suddenly began to walk forward, his eyes hard and his face stoic. Skyler squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for whatever he may dish out again, when instead, he spoke.

"I've got a better idea. How would you like to become a Vampire's Assistant?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about not updating. I got grounded and couldn't be on during the summer. School starts 27 August 2012. (August 27th 2012) so I should be updating more after that. Here you go! Thanks Homeskillitbiscuit.93 for editing!**

As the dim fire burned its way through its last embers, crackling as it did so, Skyler and Vancha finished off the last scraps of rabbit meat they had. Then, Vancha stood to his feet and stretched.

"Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing to the short brunette girl that he now called his assistant.

The girl nodded mutely at him and stood, and proceeded to follow him out to a clearing, where the bright sunlight caused both of them to squint and hold up their hands to fend off the onslaught of light. Both were sunburned, despite Skyler being human, and when Vancha would go on his daily runs, Skyler had a hard time keeping up with him.

As the two prepared to run once again, Skyler noticed something out of the corner of her eye; a man aiming something at her. As her vision focused, she saw it to be a silver hand gun. In that instant, every single muscle in her body froze in sheer terror, fear reaching up to seize her soul with an icy claw; a terror she knew too well.

Skyler prepared for death as the man's finger teasingly brushed against the trigger, and without warning, his body fell to the ground, limp as a rag doll; a shuriken embedded deep in his skull. Skyler simply stood where she was, frozen like a deer in headlights as Vancha sauntered over and retrieved his shuriken from the head, not minding the blood that was now spattered all over it. When he finished cleaning it with his purple animal hides, he looked at Skyler and spoke, his tone flat.

"For someone who's killed a person, you sure are a wimp."

Those words struck Skyler hard, the impact snapping within her like the harsh twang of a violin string, and her anger suddenly surfaced. She was sick to death of Vancha and his insults, and to make matters worse, the fact that she had to live like this beast (no bathing and eating raw meat) was just too much to bear. He had been driving her nuts since she had unwillingly become his assistant five months ago. However, with all of this combined with his constant reprimanding of her and her abilities, it made Skyler explode.

Hot tears were suddenly streaming down her dirty face; the memories of her human like flooding back like a high speed train. Her anger began to best her, and everything then came crashing down.

"And what the _hell_ would you know anything about killing? How could begin to understand what it feels like to have ended the life of the person you love most in the world? How could a creature like you ever begin to even understand any of that?" she roared, her voice becoming high and shrill with every spiteful word that ripped past her lips.

Vancha's eyes flickered for a moment; the usual nonchalance swapping with what looked like regret and pain, but Skyler was too wrapped up in her violent tornado of emotions to even care about how he reacted to her outburst.

Seeing his stone-like expression return, Skyler then took off, the hot tears still streaming down her face, her sobs drowned out by the howling wind that roared past her ears as her feet pounded down onto the hard ground. She kept on running, pushing through the burning in her legs until they finally gave out. She fell forward, grazing her hands and knees, but not bothering to get up. Instead, she lay there and cried; cried until her voice was hoarse.

It was only minutes later that Skyler looked up and around her to realize she was totally and utterly lost. Pulled herself to her knees, she rubbed her eyes and tried to catch her breath, trying to analyze her surrounding and figure out where she was.

A voice suddenly spoke out, causing Skyler to jump.

"Are you lost?" The voice was behind her, but when she turned around to see who it was, she could see no one. Just a dense wall of trees and grass and dirt. She immediately stood to her feet, arms up chest height, preparing to fight.

"W-Who are you?" Skyler called out, her voice stammering, trying to stay strong and choke back the hiccups she attained from crying.

The voice paused before answering. "Someone who can help you."

Skyler scoffed. "I don't need any help."

Skyler _swore_ she could _hear_ the smirk within the voice's tone.

"Then how will you find your way back?"

Skyler turned around once more, and became a little more aggravated as she could still see no body belonging to the mysterious voice.

"I'll manage," was her curt reply.

"Very well, then," the voice sneered. "I'll just have to work a little harder."

And as if on cue, a form stepped out of the shadows to reveal a tall man with dark purple skin and piercing red eyes. Skyler's eyes went wide, and her body once again became frozen in its place.

Skyler's shoulders suddenly felt heavy; a strong weight overwhelming her entire system, and her eyes began to droop. She fought against it, but the weight grew heavier with each passing second, and before she knew it, everything went black; her last glimpse of life being those piercing red eyes as the vampaneze took her down.


	3. Chapter 3

**A New Beginning – Chapter 3**

**Hey, dudes! Sorry about not updating. I've been at home. Grounded. And now the school isn't letting me log on here! UGH. So here's the next chapter.****  
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Vancha groaned and rolled over on the cold, hard floor of his room in Vampire Mountain. He had arrived the previous night, and the vampire flu had improved slightly since then. Fortunately for him, Skyler – he had dubbed her his "little headache" to make fun of her height and loud mouth – was not with him at the moment. He hadn't heard from her since their last fight.

_She'll be here before the weeks out, _he thought. _I've got nothing to worry about._

Barely a week had passed when Seba, now the oldest living vampire, came into Vancha's room. "Sire—" he began, but was cut off by Vancha's sleepy voice.

"Seba, you know to call me Vancha. Or, at least, I hope you do by now."

The man fidgeted, not sure whether to follow this simple order or not. "Apologies. Vancha, the vampaneze are holding a vampire's assistant captive, and we have heard several gruesome stories concerning what they are doing to the girl."

"So then have her mentor go and rescue her, or wait for her to free herself," Vancha said simply. It wasn't in the vampire's customs to save each other; if they couldn't defend themselves, they weren't worth the time.

"I would, Vancha, but the girl is…" Seba trailed off.

"The girl is…?" Vancha prompted, hoping to get Seba to continue.

"She is _your_ assistant." The old vampire said.

A frown suddenly came across Vancha's face. "Seba," he said, rising to his feet. "Do you know where Evanna is?"

"I believe she is at home for the time being," Seba replied, but Vancha was gone before the word 'for' had formed on his lips.

Vancha slowed to catch his breath outside of Evanna's cave. It had been a while since his last visit, yet nothing had changed. The pond still glittered in the dim moonlight, the frogs that Evanna bred were still croaking, and Evanna came to the cave entrance to invite him in as she normally did.

"Hello, Vancha," she said, her voice grim, as if she knew what was going on.

"Hello, Evanna. Do you know where she is?" Vancha asked.

"I do," Evanna replied mysteriously.

"Well then, will you tell me?"

Evanna sighed, then looked out at the pond. "I can't give you an exact location," she said softly, as if her words might kill Skyler. "But I can tell you to look near Larten's hometown."

Fortunately for Vancha, the vampaneze holding Skyler worked alone, and had no guards—assuming he was in the right place. Hours upon hours of looking for Skyler had led Vancha to an old mine just outside of Larten Crepsley's hometown. He took a deep breath, and entered the mine.

Screams filled the room that Skyler was in. They were in a small wooden shack, near the mine that Vancha was searching, but far enough away from it that he wouldn't hear her bloodcurdling screams. She was hanging upside down, bound by old rope. Roz had beaten the poor girl almost beyond recognition by the time Vancha had figured out where Skyler was, and found the right place.

"_Stop!"_ Skyler screamed hoarsely.

"Not until you tell me what I want to know! Tell me where the blade is!" Roz shot back, and dug a knife into the girl's ribs, which triggered a bloodcurdling scream.

"God damn it, I told you I _don't know what you're talking about!"_ she sobbed in pain. "I don't remember _anything_ before November of last year! _Nothing!"_

Roz took a small step back, and a smirk grew on his pretty face. "So you've no idea who you are?"

Another sob wracked its way from her chest. "Not a clue."

"Well, I can tell you that you ar—"

"That's enough, Roz." A voice cut in. "Let the girl down."

The man stopped short, his eyes now wide and blinking. "But—"

"Now," the voice said sternly. When Skyler was down, she looked to the source of the voice. Standing by the lamp Roz had was a tiny man in a yellow suit with green boots, holding a heart-shaped pocket watch.

The man walked over to Skyler and offered a hand up, then turned his icy gaze to Roz.

"Carry her," he demanded. Roz almost objected, but then he did as the man said.

_This guy has to be pretty powerful to make the vampaneze do as he says with no objections…_ Skyler thought.

When the trio arrived at the entrance to the mine, Vancha was only just arriving. He stopped when he saw Skyler with Roz and the man in the yellow suit, as if he expected something to go dreadfully wrong because of the man's presence.

"Mr. Tiny," Vancha said coldly.

"Vancha!" the man boomed. "How've you been?"

"What are you doing with Skyler?" Vancha demanded suspiciously, ignoring Mr. Tiny's question.

A devilish smile protruded from his thin lips. "Oh, absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, I saved her from the vampaneze she's being carried by," he said, gesturing to Roz. "I thought I'd return your daughter to you while I've got time."

Vancha glared. "What did you do to her?"

"Absolutely nothing. But Roz here did quite a number on the girl. Now, take her. I've got places to be."

Vancha glared harder at Mr. Tiny, then at Roz as he took Skyler from the vampaneze, being as careful as possible because of her injuries.

Skyler laid quietly in her room as one of the vampires tended to her wounds. Vancha sat in the room equally silent until the vampire left, and Skyler was the first to speak after that.

"Who was that man?" she asked softly.

"Someone you should avoid," Vancha snapped irritably.

"That doesn't tell me who he is."

Vancha groaned. "Fine. That was Desmond Tiny, or Mr. Tiny as many call him. Like I said, avoid people. He likes to play games that will tear lives apart."

"I see," Skyler said. "Vancha?"

"What?"

"Did he mistake me for your daughter or something?"

Vancha stood and headed for the door. "Yes."

"You're a liar. Destiny wouldn't get confused. So will you answer my questions?"

Vancha stopped in the doorway and sighed. "What do you want to know?"


End file.
